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Best Bacon Dishes In The Los Angeles Area

July 18, 2012 6:00 AM

Photo Credit: Bru’s Wiffle

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

More than a side order, bacon is a star amongst itself. Chefs and cooks alike are finding interesting and unique ways to incorporate the multi-faceted bacon into their menus. From unusual pairings to traditional eggs and bacon, restaurants in Los Angeles are stepping it up a notch as they present you with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The usual weekend wait for a table at Bru’s Wiffle in Santa Monica doesn’t turn people away. Guests wait happily and leave satisfied. Bru’s popular menu items include The King (yes, this is an ode to Elvis) – original waffle topped with peanut butter, banana and bacon. The carb/protein combination works magically and is worth every bite. It sounds like a unique mix, but if you haven’t tried this trio together atop some flapjacks, then you’re really missing out. You’ll find Southern-style fried chicken and waffles to choose from and even gluten-free prepared waffle orders as well. This West Coast waffle joint creates everything on the menu from scratch. Owner Ebru Fidan Caplan, who was born and raised in Turkey, combines her family background in the hotel and restaurant business with her fierce love for cooking.

Right down the street from Bru’s is Blue Daisy Café where you’ll find some of the best bacon crepes around. The savory Smoked Bacon & Scrambled Eggs Crepe ($10.95) is a must for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Order this savory crepe by asking the kitchen to combine and scramble the farm fresh eggs and applewood bacon together. Cooks will wrap up this delicious blend of ingredients with white cheddar in a freshly made crepe. The side of béchamel sauce enhances every bite. If you are sensitive to gluten, the kitchen will prepare crepes made with buckwheat flour instead. Looking for a bite of sweetness? Blue Daisy Café offers Nutella, strawberry, banana, lemon sugar, cinnamon apple, crepes suzette and more. Enjoy the experience with Turkish tea (organic leaf tea with bergamot), Turkish coffee which is specially brewed with fresh organic, fine-ground Turkish coffee or a Turkish Latte.

If you are in the mood for a burger, Blue Dog Tavern is your go-to. All of the 1/3-pound burgers are hand-formed, house ground beef and cooked medium rare unless specified. Start with the fabulous bacon-driven BIG’s Spicy Mac ($9), a secret blend of cheeses, applewood-smoked bacon and fresh jalapeños. The Chi Chi Burger ($12) delivers with a ground patty topped with cheddar cheese, hash browns, thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon and a sunny-side fried egg delivered in a maple-syrup bun. If you order it a Grande Chi Chi ($16), expect double the fixings, including the beef. Blue Dog will be more than happy to sub a turkey burger, chicken breast or veggie patty in any order. Beer enthusiasts will also discover eight beers on tap, which are rotated regularly featuring brews from California, Oregon and Europe.

Change up the menu the next time you host an early a.m. office pow wow. Yummy Cupcakes has some of the most original cupcake flavors perfect for any breakfast get together. The Bacon Breakfast Bonanza satisfies with its brown sugar cinnamon maple cupcake with bacon baked inside and frosted with vanilla bean buttercream. This cake is then topped with more bacon and finished with a drizzle of boysenberry syrup. Think pigs in a blanket with the vanilla-butter cupcake Blanket prepared with a breakfast sausage center and frosted with maple buttercream. The spiced Brown Sugar Ham cupcake has pieces of brown sugar ham baked inside, frosted with pineapple buttercream and topped with brown sugar, cherry glaze, bits of glazed ham and crowned with a cherry. Round out the box of goodies with a Carrot Cream Cheese cupcake, Chocolate Cappuccino cupcake (which is rolled in mini chocolate chips) and English Breakfast Tea Time, a tea-infused treat. To ensure you get to enjoy all of these great flavors, order ahead of time.

It’s an easy task to dine over pizza at Pizzeria Mozza. The brainchild of Chef Nancy Silverton with restaurateur, cookbook author and television personality Mario Batali, Pizzeria Mozza does not disappoint. It gets quite interesting when you order out of your comfort zone. The pizza selection is extensive and any one of these are perfect choices: Coach Farm pizza with cheese (an artisinal cheesemaker using traditional methods from France), leeks, scallions, garlic and bacon ($17); Bacon pizza with salami, fennel sausage, guanciale (an unsmoked Italian bacon), tomato and mozzarella ($19) or the Egg pizza with bacon, Yukon gold potatoes and Bermuda onions ($17). Each is perfect for sharing over a couple of bottles of wine.

Sheryl Craig is a writer with a passion for interesting finds and treasures in Los Angeles. She has a background in journalism and public relations. A mother of two daughters, Sheryl integrates her healthy lifestyle into raising her children. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.